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1. Man arrested over missing Victorian mum.

Police are questioning a man, named as Michael Cardamone, 48, in relation to the disappearance of Karen Chetcuti, 49, missing since Tuesday night.

The mother of two went missing in the northeast Victorian town of Whorouly.

The last confirmed sighting of Ms Chetcuti was at the Whorouly Hotel at 7.30pm on Tuesday and her burnt-out car was found 20km away in Myrtleford on Thursday.

A 48-year-old man was arrested on Sunday morning after an alleged police pursuit in the Melbourne suburb of Ringwood.

A crime scene was established on his property on Sunday morning.

In a bizarre twist Mr Cardamone himself vanished on Saturday and is believed to have called a relative to claim he had been kidnapped and was in the boot of a car.

The Herald Sun reports that Mr Cardamone claimed to have seen Ms Chetcuti at 9.15pm on Tuesday.

“When I saw her she seemed happy. I was picking tomatoes,” he told The Herald Sun.

“It’s very stressful. I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

Police and the State Emergency Service were searching the Ovens River and wells on properties around Ms Chetcuti’s house.

Police say that hopes the mother is still alive are fading.

“She could be still alive – we hope she’s still alive. But the longer it goes, the more grave the situation becomes,” Homicide Squad investigator Detective Sergeant Sol Solomon said over the weekend.

Ms Chetcuti has two children aged 13 and 14.

Anyone with further information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

2. Australian couple kidnapped in Burkina Faso identified.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has identified a couple, originally from Perth, kidnapped by militants in Burkina Faso, as Dr Ken Elliot and his wife Jocelyn.

The husband and wife operate a surgical clinic in a remote area of Burkina Faso.

They have lived there for more than 40-years.

In a statement, Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss said the Australian Government was taking the suspected kidnapping “very seriously”.

“Our thoughts are with the family of the Australians at this difficult time and we ask all to respect their request for privacy,” Mr Truss said.

“The safety of the Australians involved is our highest priority. All actions the Australian Government takes will be in the interest of their welfare.

“However, I can say that we are working with local authorities through our High Commission in Accra, Ghana, which is responsible for Australian interests in Burkina Faso.”

3. James Hird takes some responsibility for Essendon scandal.

James Hird has admitted he let the Essendon players down when was coach of the club.

It was his first interview since 34 past and present Essendon players were banned for a year by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Hird admitted his role in the controversy.

In the interview with the ABC’s Tracey Holmes Hird said he should have done more to prevent the situation that has engulfed the club.

“It is not just 2016 that it has wiped off (for the players) and potentially beyond but it has been 2013, 14 and 15 where they weren’t able to get the opportunity to play the football to their ability,” he said.

“I have a level of responsibility in that. I should have known more. I should have done more when the opportunity came.

“I feel extremely guilty for that and bad for that. I can only apologise for that. I made decisions in real time that in hindsight, I think were wrong.’.

However Hird said that sports scientist Stephen Dank and high performance chief Dean Robinson made “large mistakes”.

Hird said part of the blame should be shared by club doctor Bruce Reid, who he said approved supplements for use.

“We all should have done more and Bruce would admit he should have done more as well.”

4. Woman arrested after baby locked in car “for a full hour” and left “lucky to be alive.”

A 20-year-old woman has been arrested after allegedly leaving her 16-month-old daughter locked in a hot car.

Police were called to the scene by a member of the public after seeing the 16-month-old alone in the car at 1.30pm last Saturday, January 10th. The temperature hit 38.3 degrees that day.

Police tweeted that the baby had been in the full sun for more than an hour and was lucky to be alive.

The woman has been summonsed to appear at Manjimup Magistrates Court on February 4 on a charge of leaving a child unsupervised in a vehicle.

5. Fears of mass executions after Islamic State kidnaps 400 civilians in Syria.

Islamic State militants have kidnapped at least 400 civilians in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor according to the Syrian Observatory Human Rights.

“Those abducted, all of whom are Sunnis, include women, children and family members of pro-regime fighters,” said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

The abductions came after government-held areas in the city were attacked on Saturday.

At least 135 people were killed in the attack though Syrian state media put the toll even higher, saying about 300 civilians had died.

6. Hillary Clinton has been attacked by another (female) opponent for not spending enough time with her husband.

Hillary Clinton has been attacked by Carly Fiorina during a presidential debate for “not spending time with her husband.”

Fiorina, a Republican candidate, who has now been relegated to the undercard debate said “I’m not a political insider. I haven’t spent my lifetime running for office,” Fiorina said in opening the GOP forum — the first of two debates hosted by the Fox Business network “And unlike another woman in this race, I actually love spending time with my husband.”

In post-debate television appearances, Fiorina was asked to justify her remark.

One commentator on MSNBC asked her why hadn’t she questioned the state of other candidates’ marriages.

Fiorina replied, “There’s only two women running for president. I’m one, and Mrs. Clinton is the other.”

Many have been left wondering why the male candidates wives didn’t figure into her reasoning.

7. $120k Merc stolen during test drive.

A man selling a $120,000 Mercedes via an online site has had his car stolen by potential buyer during a test drive.

Police say that the 47-year-old man advertised his silver 2013 Mercedes C63 Coupe on carsales.com.au and was contacted by an interested buyer on Friday.

The buyers who called himself ‘Billy’ was with another man at Shepley Oval in Pultney St, Dandenong. Billy asked to sit in the driver’s seat police say and sped off in the car.

Dandenong Crime Investigation Unit detectives have released images and CCTV of a man that may be able to assist with their inquiries.

The man is of European appearance, 178cm tall with a medium build, short brown hair and clean shaven.

Anyone with further information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

8. Mums turned off breastfeeding by midwives language.

A study has found that mothers are turning away from breastfeeding due to the “negative” language” of midwives.

Research at two NSW hospitals found that mothers were being made to feel intimidated and les confident.

One woman, Sarah Thompson told the study:  “One nurse told me: ‘This isn’t the breast is best ward’. I would have to do whatever they told me,” she said.

“I overheard one midwife say she was excited the babies in her ward were formula fed because ‘I will be able to cuddle them while I feed them.

“The nurses were trying to encourage me to formula feed. I had to fight them for six days, it was horrible. I felt intimidated and bullied.”

Western Sydney University midwifery lecturer Elaine Burns said that any negative references to the baby could influence the breastfeeding process.

That included labelling the baby lazy, cranky or uninterested if they were not sucking properly reports The Daily Telegraph.

“We found that the majority of midwives we observed did tend to take over in interactions around breastfeeding,” Ms Burns said.

“Everyone was trying to do their best and they felt like they were helping — but inadvertently they were making people feel like they couldn’t do it.”

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